Photo: AFP

After the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan, our government announced that it would send a rescue team and a medical team to assist the Japanese people. Days passed and still nothing happened. Finally, a few days ago the government announced that it was making a symbolic gesture and sending four people with 2,000 blankets, 1000 pairs of gloves and 500 pairs of boots. Certainly, given the vast difference between the resources of Bangladesh and Japan we perhaps cannot make a significant contribution to their recovery efforts. But even then this is a most unsatisfactory gesture on our part. In this time of their greatest difficulty we should have done more than make such a paltry gesture.
The Japanese, as ever, are the very model of graciousness and politely smile at our beggarly conduct. But how much longer can our nation's dignity absorb the failures of our shameless politicians?